Wildfires in the country’s northeast sent smoke streaming over Mediterranean waters.
A month after devastating fires tore across parts of Greece in July 2023, dozens more fires ignited across the country in late August 2023.
A particularly large fire erupted in the country’s northeast, close to Alexandroupolis. This blaze generated a massive plume of smoke that extended hundreds of miles southwest, reaching as far as Italy. This significant plume was captured in an image on the afternoon of August 22, 2023, by the Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite (VIIRS) on the NOAA-NASA Suomi NPP satellite.
In addition to this major fire, several smaller plumes emanating from other fires were also visible across the nation on that day. Notably, fires in the vicinity of Athens caused significant damage, destroying homes and cars. The smoke from these fires enveloped the capital city.
With the situation already dire, forecasts predicted that the extreme fire weather conditions — characterized by hot, dry, and windy conditions — would persist on August 23.
NASA Earth Observatory image by Wanmei Liang, using VIIRS data from NASA EOSDIS LANCE, GIBS/Worldview, and the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership.
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